Meg Whitman has apparently written her own book, published just in time for the election season (order it here). Her GOP primary opponent, Steve Poizner, also has a book due out shortly.
Poizner’s campaign has read Whitman’s book, and has put out their "review" in the form of the hard-hitting release below. We’ll look forward to publishing Whitman’s review of Poizner’s book when it is released.
The Poizner "critique" is fun reading for those who love the "contact sport" of politics…
MEG-A-TALES
A Collection Of Stories Meg Whitman Forgot To Include In The Chapters Of Her New Book
CHAPTER 1: TRUST THAT PEOPLE ARE BASICALLY GOOD.
Craigslist Trusted Whitman, Only To Discover She Had An "Evil" Side And Could Be A "Monster":
An EBay Executive Warned Craigslist CEO James Buckmaster That Meg Whitman Had A Jekyll-And-Hyde Personality. "The eBay executive who led the online auction site’s efforts to gain a minority stake in Craigslist warned that former eBay CEO Meg Whitman had a Jekyll-and-Hyde personality, the CEO of Craigslist said Monday." (Randall Chase, "Craigslist Exec Told Whitman Had 2 Sides," The Associated Press, 12/14/09)
Whitman Was Described As Someone With An "Evil" Side Who Could Be A "Monster." "Described in testimony as someone with an ‘evil’ side who could be a ‘monster’ to those who foiled her, Whitman is at risk of losing control of the carefully crafted powerhouse image that she has parlayed into a huge lead in the GOP primary race, political observers said." (Steven Harmon, "Unflattering Picture Of Whitman Emerging From Trial," Contra Costa Times, 12/17/09)
CHAPTER 2: TRY SOMETHING. THE PRICE OF INACTION IS HIGH.
Beginning In 2008, Whitman Tried To Become A Reliable Voter:
Whitman Was Featured In A 2000 Business Week Article On The "Disturbing Number Of Top Executives" Who Do Not Vote. "A disturbing number of top executives, however, had worse-than-spotty records. No registration could be found for a small group of execs such as AT&T’s Mike Armstrong, eBay’s Meg Whitman, and Yahoo!’s Tim Koogle." (Lorraine Woellert, "Do CEOs Vote? Not Always — And Not Often," Business Week, 11/6/00)
Prior To 2008, Whitman Had Missed Every Primary Vote Since 2002 And Did Not Vote In The Historic 2003 California Recall Election And The 2005 Reform Special Election. "But until this year, Whitman had missed every primary vote since 2002, along with such important GOP elections as the 2003 recall that ousted Democratic Gov. Gray Davis and the 2005 special election that Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had billed as a singularly important attempt to reform government in California." (John Wildermuth, "Whitman Boosts Her GOP Credentials," San Francisco Chronicle, 9/4/08)
- From 2002 To 2007, Whitman Voted In Only 6 Of 13 Elections.(Carla Marinucci, "Skipped Votes May Come Back To Haunt Fiorina," San Francisco Chronicle, 6/2/09)
Whitman Missed A Series Of Important Elections In The 1990s, Including The Historic GOP Takeover Of Congress And Mitt Romney’s U.S. Senate Bid In 1994. "Whitman and her husband, Griffith Harsh, a neurologist, lived in Brookline, Mass., a suburb just outside Boston, for several years in the 1990s. She worked for Stride-Rite, FTD and Hasbro until 1997. ‘We had her as a resident for a while, and she was captured by the census, but she was never registered and she never voted,’ said Patrick Ard, town clerk in Brookline." (Andrew McIntosh, "Meg Whitman’s Voting Record Short, Sparse," Sacramento Bee, 9/24/09)
CHAPTER 3: BE AUTHENTIC. YOU CAN’T BUY INTEGRITY.
Whitman And Her Subordinate Mocked Craigslist’s Misplaced Trust In EBay, Calling It "Pretty Funny":
In A Series Of E-Mails, Whitman And Her Subordinate Mocked Craigslist’s Trust In EBay. "On Tuesday, Craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster testified about an email exchange between eMeg and eBay executive Garrett Price that followed an interview Buckmaster gave to business reporter Matthew Boyle of Fortune; in response to a question about possible conflicts between the two companies, Buckmaster told Boyle, ‘our first instinct is to trust eBay to take the high road.’ Price emailed a copy to Whitman, asking if she had seen the piece: Whitman: ‘Did. Pretty funny.’ Price: ‘Yes. I am glad to read that he trusts us.’ Whitman: ‘Love this.’ Referencing the email string, Craigslist’s attorney asked Buckmaster, ‘Did you think it was ‘pretty funny’ that you trusted eBay?’ ‘No,’ Buckmaster replied sadly." (Jerry Roberts and Phil Trounstine, "Hump Day: Tom C, Tony V & eMeg’s eMails," CalBuzz, 12/16/09)
CHAPTER 4: BE FRUGAL. CONSERVE RESOURCES.
Whitman’s Frugal Campaign Has Spent "Untold Millions On Political Consultants" And Radio Ads:
"[Whitman] Is Estimated To Have Spent More Than $300,000 On Polls And Untold Millions On Political Consultants In The Year Since The Start Of Her Drive For California’s Top Post.”(Carla Marinucci, "Meg Whitman Turns The Page On Campaign Trail," San Francisco Chronicle, 1/25/10)
Whitman Has Spent Millions Of Dollars On Radio Ads. "She has spent millions on radio ads, but she has not made a personal campaign appearance in nearly six weeks and has offered no details on how she would meet her goals of cutting up to 30,000 state workers and attracting 2 million new jobs to California." (Carla Marinucci, "Meg Whitman Turns The Page On Campaign Trail," San Francisco Chronicle, 1/25/10)
Whitman’s $40 Million In Personal Spending Has Matched The Previous California Record Set By 1998 Democrat Gubernatorial Candidate Al Checchi (D-CA). "The campaign of billionaire ex-eBay CEO Meg Whitman, the California Republican gubernatorial hopeful, announced this morning that she has contributed another $20 million from her personal fortune to her campaign. This brings her personal spending thus far to about $40 million, already matching the record for a California campaign set by former Northwest Airlines CEO Al Checchi in his losing bid for the 1998 Democratic gubernatorial nomination. And it’s only January." (Bill Bradley, "Whitman Matches Al Checchi’s Personal Spending Record," New West Notes Blog, www.newwestnotes.com, 1/21/10)
CHAPTER 5: RESULTS MATTER. BE ACCOUNTABLE.
Current EBay CEO Celebrated The Results Of Whitman’s Tenure By Disassembling "All Of Her Strategic Moves":
Whitman’s Successor At EBay "Has Pretty Much Disassembled All Of Her Strategic Moves." "Before voting for Meg Whitman for governor, California residents would do well to consider what has been happening at eBay since she stepped down as chief executive. John Donahoe, her successor, has pretty much disassembled all of her major strategic moves." (Saul Hansell, "Undoing Meg Whitman’s eBay," The New York Times’ "Bits" Blog, bits.blogs.nytimes.com, 4/23/09)
EBay CEO John Donahoe Is "Undoing Her [Whitman’s] Acquisitions" Since "Neither Voice Communications Nor Web Surfing Have Anything To Do With What EBay Does." "He is undoing her acquisitions of Skype and StumbleUpon. It turns out that neither voice communications nor Web surfing have anything to do with what eBay does." (Saul Hansell, "Undoing Meg Whitman’s eBay," The New York Times’ "Bits" Blog, bits.blogs.nytimes.com, 4/23/09)
Meg Whitman’s Successor John Donahoe "Has Been On A 20-Month Mission To Turn Around" EBay. "’E-commerce is 10 years old, but it is still in its infancy,’ eBay CEO John Donahoe said in a wide-ranging, hour-long interview last week. The four-year eBay veteran, who was named to succeed Meg Whitman as CEO in January 2008, has been on a 20-month mission to turn around the Silicon Valley icon, which popularized online auctions for millions of people worldwide. His efforts recently resulted in the first quarterly revenue increase at eBay in a year." (Jon Swartz, "CEO Tries To Breathe New Life Into Ebay And Paypal," USA Today, 12/14/09)
CHAPTER 6: LISTEN. EVERYONE HAS SOMETHING TO CONTRIBUTE.
Whitman Has Refused To Listen To Her Republican Primary Opponents By Not Debating:
Whitman Has Refused To Show Up At Any Of The Four Debates That Have Been Held During The Republican Primary. "Whitman’s relationship with the press has been strained–some might say tortured–thus far. She is known for taking only a handful of queries after campaign events before being whisked away, and her press handlers aren’t shy about interrupting her conversations with journalists. Her opponents scream about the fact that she won’t debate them; they have already faced off four times, while Whitman has committed to just one debate in March." (Sheelah Kolhatkar, "Meg’s Run," Time, 12/14/09)
"If Whitman Is Too Gutless To Take On Poizner, What Makes Any Of Us Think She Can Handle The Wily Democrats In Sacramento?"("Will Meg Whitman Debate Steve Poizner Before The June Primary?," Orange Juice Blog, www.orangejuiceblog.com, 1/25/10)
CHAPTER 7: FOCUS. PRUNE DISTRACTIONS.
Whitman Has Focused Her Campaign On Offering Vague Proposals With Very Few Details:
Whitman Continued To Be "Vague" About What Programs She Would Cut And Which Employees She Would Fire. "In an interview with The Associated Press later Tuesday, Whitman was vague about what state programs she would cut or what employees she would eliminate to meet her goals. She said eliminating 40,000 jobs would save $3.3 billion, and she would also seek to shrink commissions and boards, use technology better and consolidate the state’s purchasing power. Whitman said she would thoroughly examine the budget to look for waste and fraud." (Juliet Williams, "Whitman Formally Begins Bid For Calif. Governor," The Associated Press, 9/22/09)
- When Pressed For Details, Whitman Said "Trust Me." "’Trust me, there is $15 billion at least in there,’ she said. (Juliet Williams, "Whitman Formally Begins Bid For Calif. Governor," The Associated Press, 9/22/09)
CHAPTER 8: ENFRANCHISE AND VALIDATE. TEAMWORK WORKS.
Whitman Has Teamed Up With Prominent Democrats, Including Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA) And Her Chief Strategist Henry Gomez, A Former DNC Operative:
In Addition To Contributing The Maximum $4,000 To Boxer’s Re-Election Campaign, Whitman Served On An "Exclusive Committee Of Technology Leaders" In Favor Of Boxer’s Campaign. "Whitman not only endorsed Boxer and donated the maximum $4,000 to the junior California senator’s 2004 re-election campaign, but the former eBay CEO also served on an exclusive committee of Technology Leaders for Boxer in her re-election battle against Republican California Secretary of State Bill Jones, according to election records obtained by The Chronicle." (Carla Marinucci, "Whitman Supported GOP Nemesis Boxer In ’04," San Francisco Chronicle, 10/3/09)
- In An Open Letter Soliciting Support From Technology Leaders, Whitman Called Boxer A "Courageous Leader." "’Barbara Boxer is a courageous leader and friend of California’s technology industry,’ extolled the former eBay executive in a Friends of Boxer release issued in April 30, 2003. Her name was part of an open letter signed by various technology leaders." (Sandra Gonzales, "Whitman Called Democrat Boxer ‘Courageous Leader’ In 2004," The [San Jose] Mercury News, 10/3/09)
Whitman Advisor Henry Gomez Served As A DNC Spokesperson, Who Criticized Republicans During The Reagan Administration. "The conservative climate has Democrats worried, but some party leaders see hope. Says Henry Gomez, youth coordinator for the Democratic National Committee: ‘Students are liberal on many issues such as the equal-rights amendment and abortion. And they’re scared that conservative groups are going too far in some areas, such as trying to legalize school prayer and get involved in people’s personal lives.’" (Kenneth T. Walsh, "From Lecture Monitoring To Banner Waving To Recruiting For Reagan," U.S. News & World Report, 1/13/86)
CHAPTER 9: BE BRAVE. MOST THINGS WORTH DOING ARE HARD.
Whitman Bravely Gave $300,000 To The Environmental Defense Fund To Help The Delta Smelt:
In 2008, Whitman Gave $200,000 To The Environmental Defense Fund, Specifically To The Center For Rivers And Deltas. "She gave $200,000 to the Environmental Defense Fund for a project aimed at rescuing the Delta, but as a candidate she has sided against environmentalists in the debate." (Ken McLaughlin, "Latest Tax Returns From Meg Whitman’s Foundation May Raise Further Questions About Her Environmental Record," The [San Jose] Mercury News, 11/18/09)
Whitman Already Gave $100,000 To The Environmental Defense Fund’s Center For Rivers And Deltas In 2007. "Whitman in June joined farming interests in calling on Congress to suspend the Endangered Species Act to give more water to farmers and less to the endangered Delta smelt, a finger-sized fish seen as an indicator of the overall health of the Delta. But in 2007, her foundation contributed $100,000 to the Environmental Defense Fund for its Delta project." (Ken McLaughlin, "Latest Tax Returns From Meg Whitman’s Foundation May Raise Further Questions About Her Environmental Record," The [San Jose] Mercury News, 11/18/09)
CHAPTER 10: BE FLEXIBLE. IF YOU CANNOT SCALE, YOU WILL FAIL.
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